Chemical Communication

Chemical signal exploitation in predator prey interactions

Signaling lies at the heart of behavioural and evolutionary ecology, being the primary means by which animals choose mates and socialise. Yet social signals are open to eavesdropping enemies, including predators which may use prey cues to improve their foraging. In Australia, prey naiveté to alien predators is one reason why invasive species have been so devastating, yet we know little of how predators find their prey. Our research aims to develop a new understanding about the exploitation of social signals by both predator and prey. In doing so we aim to generate new theory on the reactive foraging behaviour of predators and use this theory to solve conservation problems.